Below you will find a list of classes, their slide presentation lessons, and their assignments:

• 1a: Introduction / Seating Charts / "Find Someone Who..."

• 1b. Classroom Expectations

• 2: Is It Music? Cage's "4'33"

• 3a. Computer Protocols

• 3b: Pre-Test

• 3c. Plickers

• 4: Introduction to Soundtrap

• 5: Pulse/ Tempo / BPMs

• 6a: BPMs Applied to Sampling

• 6b. Create an MP3 of your project and attach it in Google Classroom 

• 7: Intro to Instrumentation

• 8a. Orchestral Instrument Families

• 8b. Orchestrating Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony"

• 8c. Remixing The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights"

• 8d. Rubric for Remix

• 8e. Practice test for Exam #1

• 9. Melody: Scales (Whole Steps and Half Steps)

• 10: Melody: Musical Motifs

• 11. Melody: Composing Phrases Out of Motifs

• 12. Composing a Melody Over a Chord Progression

• 13. Chords (Major and Minor)

• 14a. Root Position Triads 

• 14b. Chord Progressions

• 15. Diminished Chords

• 16. Test #2 Prep: Melody and Harmony

• 17. Test #2: Melody and Harmony

Unit 1: Assignments:

• Assignment: Introduction to Soundtrap

• Assignment: Foundations of Music: Pulse 

• Project #1: Sampling Project

• Project #2: Orchestrate Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony"

• Project #3: Remix "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd

• ‘“Blinding Lights' Rubric Check"

• Assignment: Half Steps and Whole Steps

• Assignment: Motifs

• Assignment: Composing Phrases Out of Motifs

• Assignment: Make a Melody Out of Phrases

• Assignment: Compose a Melody

• Assignment: Major and Minor Scales and Chords

• Assignment: Spelling Out Chords

• Assignment: Chord Progression I V vi IV

• Assignment: Diminished Chords

• Practice Test #2

Unit 1: Test Review

Topic/Theme:

Fundamentals and Universals in Music

Duration:

2 months

Standard:

CCLS 3b: Enduring Understanding: Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent. 

Essential Questions:

• How is music able to express and communicate emotional states? 

• How do different instruments have unique sounds and how does this affect their expressivity and impact? 

• How do composers use instruments to keep an audience engaged? 

• How composers combine simple ideas to make more sophisticated and complex ones?

• How do composers balance repetition and variation to make music catchy but also interesting? 

• How does form affect our enjoyment of music? 

Enduring Understanding Questions:

• How are melodies made? 

• What makes melodies catchy?

• What is tempo? 

• What is key? 

• What are the instruments of the orchestra? 

• What is a scale? 

• What is a melody? 

• What is a chord? 

• What is the difference between minor and major modes? 

• What are the parts of a song? How do we read a time signature?

• What is music? 

• What is the difference between noise and music? 

• How much repetition and variation are desirable in music? 

• Does music reflect our corporeal existence? 

• Does music connect to a sense of spirituality? 

• How does our cultural background affect our musical taste? 

• How do our biases about groups of people affect how we view their music?

Key Student Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to find the tempo of a piece and set a metronome, distinguish between minor and major modes, demonstrate knowledge of how instruments generate sound, name the sections of an orchestra with examples of instruments, remix a song using instruments of the orchestra, use a scale to create a melody, label the parts of a song, and read a time signature.

Sequence of Key Learning Activities:

1. Pulse/Tempo/BPMs

2. Time Signatures and Rhythm

3. Instrumentation/Texture

4. Scales and Melody

5. Harmony and Chords

6. Structure

Key texts to be used:

Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony,” Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” Xxxtentacion’s “Changes,” "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd, Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams.”

Assessments:

Pre-assessment on skills and knowledge.

Soundtrap projects on BPM (Tempo), orchestration, and composing a melody.

Class assignments on finding a tempo, the instruments of the orchestra, differentiating between major and minor. 

Weekly test on key terms and concepts.